# Mom's Best French Toast



## Mister Moo (Sep 8, 2005)

You need bread twice as thick as normal sliced bread. Fresh spongey/poofy-type bread is required - the best is challah or egg bread but Sunbeam Texas BBQ Slices works great. Stale bread or coarser, very dense bread isn't going to cut it.

In a low sided bowl beat or whisk together:

1 1/2 cups milk (skim works but anything fatter is better)
5 eggs
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon (or more) of vanilla extract

Add bread so it is flat and soaking up the juice; when it gets heavy, cradle and flip it carefully (it's got to get a bit soggy) with a spatchet (or two spatchets) and let the other side get soggy. Let it get soggy about clear thru.

While the bread soggies up, heat a skillet or griddle and melt more butter on it than is probably healthy for a human. Do not ever let the butter burn or smoke or the toast will taste terrible. Place the soggy bread, which would otherwise rip in half if you didn't cradle it on the lift, in the butter and expect to hear a little sizzling sound. If it doesn't sizzle the griddle isn't hot enough. Cook to half-golden on one side; flip and cook to nearly black on the other side; flip again and cook to dark brown. The inside texture should finish off like a very moist cake. The sugar in the batter will add a slightly hard crust to the outside; it's the sugar that may turn black - don't worry if it goes it little dark looking if that what it takes to cook the batter through the bread.

Serve hot from the griddle. Dust with powdered sugar and serve with choice of syrup or toppings. A little shot of whipped cream get extra points. Crispy bacon alongside is double points.










Eats best with premium coffee followed by a short cigar.


----------



## Alyks (Jun 2, 2007)

Looking at those pictures makes me hungry. I think I'll get me some French toast for lunch... Hey it's a rainy sunday afternoon. I think I need a little comfort food.


----------



## leasingthisspace (Jun 9, 2008)

I am sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo hungry now. Thanks.


----------



## Mister Moo (Sep 8, 2005)

Keywords: doublethick, slice, poofy, soggy, vanilla extract, sugar, crispy outer shell, bacon, don't burn butter.


----------



## Darrell (Aug 12, 2007)

That looks disgusting. :dr

I'll have 3 slices please.


----------



## Mister Moo (Sep 8, 2005)

Alyks said:


> Looking at those pictures makes me hungry. I think I'll get me some French toast for lunch... Hey it's a rainy sunday afternoon. I think I need a little comfort food.


Simple pleasures... enhanced French Toast. Yum.


----------



## Ivory Tower (Nov 18, 2005)

Yum. Where's the butter?


----------



## hardcz (Aug 1, 2007)

forget crispy bacon, chewy is where it's at...


----------



## El Gato (Apr 2, 2003)

Beautiful Pics!:dr
I had french toast, bacon, and budwieser at my wedding! (It was a brunch).
Your post brought back some fond memories for me. Thanks.


----------



## GrtndpwrflOZ (May 17, 2007)

Darrell said:


> That looks disgusting. :dr
> 
> I'll have 3 slices please.


:tpd::tpd::tpd::tpd::tpd::tpd::tpd:

Mr.Moo *YOU SUCK*
I be lovin me some befass

Thanks for the recipe, I'll have to get Linda to make some this weekend.

B :tu


----------



## Mister Moo (Sep 8, 2005)

GrtndpwrflOZ said:


> :tpd::tpd::tpd::tpd::tpd::tpd::tpd:
> 
> Mr.Moo *YOU SUCK*
> B :tu


Ja. Ja. It's always da biggest whale what gets the first harpoon.


----------



## SmokeyJoe (Oct 3, 2006)

Nice looking eats, Moo! Any chance for a side order of steel cut oats?


----------



## raisin (Dec 3, 2005)

What's even better, is to slice a little pocket in the bread from one side, and stuff the bread with a little jam (or for the gastronomes, some mincemeat!) and then dip and cook...


----------



## GrtndpwrflOZ (May 17, 2007)

raisin said:


> What's even better, is to slice a little pocket in the bread from one side, and stuff the bread with a little jam (or for the gastronomes, some mincemeat!) and then dip and cook...


:dr:dr:dr:dr:dr:dr:dr:dr:dr:dr:dr


----------



## hardcz (Aug 1, 2007)

raisin said:


> What's even better, is to slice a little pocket in the bread from one side, and stuff the bread with a little jam (or for the gastronomes, some mincemeat!) and then dip and cook...


No idea what mincemeat is.........

Though sounds like something similar to a monte cristo style..... get a sammich, batter the sob and fry it :dr:dr:dr


----------



## awsmith4 (Jun 5, 2007)

I made it this morning and it was great. I used texas toast as the bread. I had 2 slices and haven't moved much since


----------



## rx2010 (Jan 4, 2007)

I'm about to make up a batch of these, I will let you guys know how they turn out

Mrs. Baird's Texas Toast will be the template


oh my lordy it was good. I used fat free half and half (not sure how that works exactly) instead of milk and it was superb. Thanks for the recipe Mr Moo!


----------



## Mister Moo (Sep 8, 2005)

rx2010 said:


> ...oh my lordy it was good. I used fat free half and half (not sure how that works exactly) instead of milk and it was superb.


There are french toast talkers and there are french toast doers - clearly you are a FTD. I would think half&half is a good call. Even fat free it would be a perfect match for too much butter and eggs. 

It is great stuff, isn't it?


----------



## yourchoice (Jun 25, 2006)

No cinnamon? Hmmmm...


----------



## M1903A1 (Jun 7, 2006)

File this one for reference....


----------



## Mister Moo (Sep 8, 2005)

yourchoice said:


> No cinnamon? Hmmmm...


No sir. No cinnamon. No mincemeat. Not in this thread. N'yuh uh.

Powdered sugar. Sure.
Syrup. Absolutely.
Fruit and/or whipped cream as optional. Yes.
Thick cut crunchy bacon. Certainly.


----------



## rx2010 (Jan 4, 2007)

oh yeah, I definitely dusted some powdered sugar on mine (although I ate the first one without for a baseline reference)

some aunt jemima butter lite on top. dizzam good stuff, mad props. I think I ate about 5 pieces, with 3 more in the fridge for tomorrow. my wife ate 2 and loved em

I used about 1/5-1/4 stick of light butter per 3 slices (amount that fit in pan at one time)


----------



## awsmith4 (Jun 5, 2007)

I forgot to mention the syrup I used was given to me by Todd (revsmoke). It was bottled by someone in his congregation and was darn fine stuff :tu


----------



## BengalMan (Aug 13, 2007)

Just so you know, this recipe is on tap for Sunday morning's tailgate! I will let you know how it goes.


----------



## BengalMan (Aug 13, 2007)

What level did you melt the butter and cook the french toast on?


----------



## Mister Moo (Sep 8, 2005)

BengalMan said:


> What level did you melt the butter and cook the french toast on?


You raise a good question. Burn the butter and the breakfast is screwed. Burnng the butter will ruin the taste of french toast - this toast in particular. Heat the pan on medium- to medium-low and make sure the melting butter doesn't go brown. Watch the butter closely when melting and cooking; you never want to see smoke. When it's melted and bubbling (but not smoking or burning) immediate add the (already) batter saturated bread.

You definitely want the egg-soaked bread to sizzle a bit when it hits the (hot) butter. This will immediately cook the egg (and harden the sugars) to "seal" the skin of the toast. This prevents all the butter from soaking in and making the toast into a greasy blob.

If the butter is brown or smoking it's too hot and ruined for cooking; if it isn't bubbling a bit (enough to make the batter sizzle when it its the pan) is isn't hot enough. Cook medium-low to prevent burning the butter and to insure the batter cooks thru the thick bread - about 5-8 minutes per side. I usually let the first side cook until it gets sealed, about a minute or two, then turn to let the other side cook to dark/golden (5-min) - then flip once more (5 more, approx). Slow heat - sizzle - seal - golden brown to very dark works. If one side goes too dark, serve that side facing down. Nobody will notice.

Hope this helps.


----------



## BengalMan (Aug 13, 2007)

This helps a lot because honestly, I would have ruined it this weekened withouth reading that. 

Thanks!


----------



## Mister Moo (Sep 8, 2005)

BengalMan said:


> This helps a lot because honestly, I would have ruined it this weekened withouth reading that.
> 
> Thanks!


My pleasure. I live to serve (french toast).

COOKING SIDEBAR: I discovered, when I was in the army, there is a large slice of the population that likes to soak food in lard before cooking. I also learned that cooking with butter (or oils in general) means, for many, wait until it is smoking before tossing the food in the skillet. While butter showing a little brown around the edges works fine when you toss cornbread batter into the pan, it doesn't work with most things you cook in it - it just imparts a bad taste.


----------



## themoneycollector (Apr 18, 2007)

raisin said:


> What's even better, is to slice a little pocket in the bread from one side, and stuff the bread with a little jam (or for the gastronomes, some mincemeat!) and then dip and cook...


Sounds yummy


----------



## jeromy (Oct 16, 2008)

looks great! I think we have a new menu item for this Sundays b-fast!


----------



## partagaspete (Apr 27, 2004)

Sounds real good. I may try it but I'll use Kings Hawaiian Bread. It is ten times better than Texas toast but you need to cut it almost as think or it may come apart in the batter since it soakes it up quickly.

T


----------



## Mister Moo (Sep 8, 2005)

partagaspete said:


> Sounds real good. I may try it but I'll use Kings Hawaiian Bread. T


I'm thinking that's a really cakey, moist bread. Perfect if it doesn't disintegrate in the bath.


----------



## partagaspete (Apr 27, 2004)

Mister Moo said:


> I'm thinking that's a really cakey, moist bread. Perfect if it doesn't disintegrate in the bath.


That is the truth brother that is why I said you have to cut it think and that it soaks up the bath quick. So if you do it quick it comes out real good.

T


----------

